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Show Summary
In this episode of the Real Estate Pros podcast, Trevor Methena shares his journey into real estate investing, highlighting his strategic decisions and the lessons learned along the way. Starting in 2020, Trevor capitalized on a strong rental market in Toledo, Ohio, leveraging his father’s local presence to acquire 20 properties, including single-family homes and a duplex. He discusses the importance of having a competitive advantage and the role of professional property management in his success. Trevor also reflects on the challenges of transitioning from a service-based business back to real estate, emphasizing the need for capital and the desire to expand into multifamily investments.
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Investor Fuel Show Transcript:
Trevor Methena (00:00)
Yeah, going back a little to the mindset you’re talking about. ⁓ I’ve built up a pretty confident mindset ⁓ based on continuing, hey, I’m going to try this. Let’s see if it works. my gosh, I did. Just knocking every limited belief out of the park that I had starting out as a young adult. ⁓ But I would say the first five to seven closings that I didevery single one of them had a moment where I freaked out. I said, we’re going to lose everything. This is going to be a disaster. I’m done. I’m getting rid of all of them. And then five minutes later, you know, that’s the feeling subsides. You’re like, okay, I’m back.
Q Edmonds (02:19)
Hello everyone. Welcome to the Real Estate Pros podcast. I am your host Q Edmonds and I’m excited to be here today. I have another fantastic guest and I’m gonna tell him, know, let him walk you through his story, tell you about the different things that he do, but I’m excited about him. I’m excited about what he do. He’s gonna bring a lot of value to this podcast. like already like him and thanking him.Kind of just for his transparency and honesty and just easy to talk to you. And so I’m sure you’re going to pick up on that as we talk. So I want to introduce you all to Mr. Trevor Methena. Did I do it right? Methena, I get it right again? Awesome. Appreciate you, man. Mr. Trevor, how are you doing today,
Trevor Methena (03:00)
You got it. Nailed it.I’m doing great. How about you?
Q Edmonds (03:08)
Oh man, I’m doing good. Um, you know, we will tip out ahead a little bit. We don’t know when it’s going to come up, but it’s Friday. I think we both, you know, excited that it’s Friday, right? And so, um, Mr. Trevor, I’m going to, I’m going to jump right into it. I want you to tell the people what your main focus is these days. If you want to give us a little bit of an origin story of kind of how you got into real estate, we love origin stories and then tell them what part of the world you’re in, man, what markets you’re operating in. So Mr. Trevor, sir, you got the floor, man.Trevor Methena (03:36)
Awesome, thank you. So, yep, I’m down here in central Texas ⁓ in the Austin area, and we’ve been down here about 10 years or so. ⁓ This place, part of the origin story is the fact that Austin is a pretty big tech market and there’s a lot of startup culture. And so right away, I wanted to get into something like that from a technical standpoint, but I don’t have an app idea. I never did, never could code, nothing like that. So…sitting around with a friend of mine that I met pretty early on living here. And he said, you know, well, yeah, obviously, yeah, you don’t have a idea like that. So just start investing in real estate. said, well, dummy, I also don’t have money. He said, you don’t need money. I was like, sure you do. so we got into this little bit, not an argument, but he said, you know, go get, you can go get mortgages just like you can a normal house and all this stuff. said, no way. So right then I started, it clicked and I started researching.
And that’s when I started my YouTube university, just figuring out what I was going to do, where I wanted to go and started realizing, shoot, you can leverage banks. You can do a lot of this stuff. And ⁓ before you knew it, I started to think about the market here. We made a sale of our primary residents and where it was able to leverage a lot of that equity to start our fund. And we started putting down 20 %
onto properties. And once that all kicked off, that’s also when the Austin market just went haywire, went super hot, and the prices started to not pencil out, you know, according to all the research I’ve been doing.
And so I had to look at where I could go instead. ⁓ One thing that kept resonating was hearing, where’s your competitive advantage at? You don’t have to stay investing where you live, but you know, where’s that competitive advantage? Well,
My dad lives up in Toledo, Ohio, and that area started coming up ⁓ all the time as far as, these are affordable houses. There’s pockets that you can find with good rent, strong rent, but good pricing. So I went headstrong into that, ⁓ called my dad up, see if he was down to start helping out. He certainly was, and we took down the first property in 2020. ⁓ And four years later, built up to 20 properties, which was 21 doors.
because one of them was a duplex, whittled away a few of the duds that we did, you know, purchased a little too quickly. So now we’re at 18 properties, so 18 single family with 17, or sorry, 19 doors.
Q Edmonds (07:00)
Yeah, yeah. I love it, man. Thank you, man. Thank you for taking me through the journey. Thank you for taking me to where you are now. I want to dig a little bit into you, man, into your wiring, know, the way you think. And so I say it like this. say destiny has no wasted moments, right? Meaning as we go through life, there are different stops that we make a long life that kind of just make us who we are. We pick up things.and we pick up some maybe resilience, we pick up discipline, we pick up different things. And so I’m wondering with you, when you look back on your life and look at where you are now, what are some traits that the younger you kind of prepared to you who you are now? Like what are the things that you have took to you to kind of make you successful as you grow in real estate?
Trevor Methena (07:50)
absolutely. So starting off in childhood, I, you know, I, I would get into things and go deep if I, if I was really into something. ⁓ but also kind of grew up with about a lot of limiting beliefs. Everybody around me, they did W two jobs. They worked them as long as they could start to stay at the same place and retire from there. And that was the only thing I even, you know, was kind of given the, the advice of, Hey, you don’t have to go to college, which I know now has a different connotation.you know, 30 years later, but, ⁓ I just, had no clue about what I was capable of. fast forward to when I was 22, ⁓ I had done a few things. had lost 80 pounds, from being really overweight and then, ⁓ getting into exercise and doing that, realizing I could do that, opened up a door to the military actually. And that is what really catapulted me into professionalism.
into having a skill set, I went into technology within the Navy. But get into the Navy and you start to realize there’s a lot of things you’re capable of doing. able to go do whatever you put your mind to and whatever you start to work hard at. So I carried that out once I finished up my time in the Navy. ⁓ that kind of mindset and belief system that I’ve restructured in myself as an adult.
combined with a kind of an entrepreneurial spirit is what catapulted me and kicked me off into taking this route with real estate. I still have a W-2 job that I would love to get rid of. I’m working on it. I’d like to go be in real estate full-time, we’re not quite there yet as a full family. But it’s always in the back of my head kind of driving me to continue and grow.
Q Edmonds (09:41)
No, I love it, man. Thank you again, man. Thank you for your transparency. Thank you for sharing your story. You know, like I said, you know, there are things that kind of fortify us to who we are now. And when I’m talking to people that like yourself, that’s in real estate, that’s making decisions, got to make the next decision. You sometimes we got to look at kind of where we came from, take a peek kind of in that mirror and look what we overcome, where we came from, what has made us who we are today. Cause sometimes that can bring clarity.to kind of where we want to go. For instance, I like to say, and I heard this from one of my mentors, when you know who you are, you know what to do.
So when you know who you are, like you know what to do in any situation. And so I’m with you, man. I’ve lost over a hundred pounds twice in my life. kind of, yeah, I’m kind of back at it, but I knew it started with my mindset, right? Whenever my mindset wasn’t right, I would start putting on a weight. Whenever my mindset was right, I would shed the weight because I’m doing everything that I need to do. And so.
I hear you man, like everything you say kind of resonate with me man. So I thank you again for your transparency. I appreciate it.
Trevor Methena (11:21)
Absolutely.Q Edmonds (11:22)
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So man, let me ask you this. What is the next real goal for you? Like, what are you looking to solve a scale next?Trevor Methena (11:31)
Next thing is we’re going to move into multifamily. And I’ll also get my wife involved a lot more. she’s been involved with real estate as well. Not as much, but we’re going to go in and partner on this. So I have an opportunity with a family friend, a very, very close family friend, I should say. They are looking at moving their portfolio via 1031 exchange.into a different market and a different asset class, ⁓ a better asset class. So they are going to allow me to be heavily, heavily involved with the process. I’m going to be able to learn the ins and outs of the 1031 exchange. I’m going to make contacts with law firms that handle that kind of stuff, ⁓ having to do a lot of maneuvering. And then also they’re going to help, they’re kind of entrusting us to help pick the market.
which we eventually want to start also putting more properties in within our own business as well. So it’s going to be a lot of learning, ⁓ a lot of long-term help here. But 2026 should be, if it all goes well, should be a great year for learning and set us up for 2027 to potentially be really huge. Granted, ⁓ on the flip side, we need to also find some ⁓
personal investors to work with. That is the other piece to find some folks that maybe want to do some material participation, maybe some that are fully passive. We’re going to be looking and seeking out and building relationships in that area.
Q Edmonds (12:57)
So.Well, man, you didn’t brought up the word relationship. That’s kind of actually where I wanted to go next, man. I would love to know your perspective on relationship building. Has it served you? Do you a premium on it? What’s your relationship building style like? Give me your philosophy and your perspective when it comes to relationships.
Trevor Methena (13:38)
100%. So ⁓ I am all about building a relationship and building a trust. I’ve used the same insurance broker. I’ve used the same mortgage broker for the most part. And my realtor in Ohio has been the same three people because they felt just as strongly about building a relationship as I did. And we built a very, very strong relationship. I’d even hear stories of ⁓ likethey would feel a little bit nervous around opening up or being a little bit less guarded because they’ve had that blow up in their face before. Like, listen, no, I need you to always shoot it to me straight. It’s not going to blow up in your face. If you think that you’re going to, we’re going to get 1500 a month for rent on here, it ends up 13. I understood the risk. we’ve continually been able to build up that, that, that relationship. Additionally, the
⁓ actual tenants and guests that I take care of and that I am interacting with, I put an absolute premium on giving them the best, my best to them. I’m as responsive as possible and I’m as clear as possible. And I’ve received so many compliments of, hey, you’re the best landlord I’ve had before. No one’s ever gotten taken care of us like this. And I’m not letting them walk all over me, but there’s a mutual respect and
a very quick turnaround with communication.
Q Edmonds (15:46)
Yeah, Stand on a relationship topic and I hope you don’t mind me mentioning this, but you want to get involved with veteran-owned groups. You want to get involved with veterans. I mean, I know I can imagine why you would want to do that, but I want you to tell me point blank. Like, why is that important to you? Why is that close to the heart to you?Trevor Methena (16:09)
Just they’re my people, they’re the folks that I know we’ve shared similar experiences with that come from all walks of life. they bring, veterans bring so many different things to the table because we’re, the military is a huge melting pot of everybody coming from every walk of life, all backgrounds. And then they come into this crazy, often crazy chaotic situation whereThere’s some high stress environments. There’s some things that they don’t know what they’re, you know, there’s, things that they don’t know what they’re doing with and they have to go figure it out. If you’re, if you’ve been a veteran and you’ve made it through these trials and tribulations, I’m not going to think that you’re going to be stopped with, ⁓ you know, a small little, let’s say a maintenance item or, Hey, this is kind of, this door is kind of janky. think I’m just going to quit. No.
you’re gonna be able to trust them to work on everything they do. anytime I can, if I can hire or work with or build a relationship with a veteran or a veteran owned company, I’m doing that.
Q Edmonds (17:20)
Yeah, now man veterans have this certain resilience that just you can’t get anywhere else is so I have not found a more eloquent way to say this and I know, you know people say this all the time, but I mean it sincerely man. Thank you for your service. Thank you for what you’ve done. And I I try to drive that home to say this. I was not brave enough to serve and so thank you for any capacity you serve. I thank you. I appreciate it flowers to you man. I mean that sincerely.Trevor Methena (17:49)
appreciate that. Yep. ⁓ It’s not for everyone. And it’s there’s a million and a half circumstances that could prevent someone from going so there’s never I’ve never in the and I don’t know many veterans who have any kind of animosity towards any of that. So appreciate your support big time.Q Edmonds (18:08)
Absolutely.So listen, Trevor, is there a topic that I have not brought up that you want to touch on? Is there any other words of motivation, education, inspiration that you want to give? If there’s anything like that, I would love to hear from
Trevor Methena (18:24)
Yeah, going back a little to the mindset you’re talking about. ⁓ I’ve built up a pretty confident mindset ⁓ based on continuing, hey, I’m going to try this. Let’s see if it works. my gosh, I did. Just knocking every limited belief out of the park that I had starting out as a young adult. ⁓ But I would say the first five to seven closings that I didevery single one of them had a moment where I freaked out. I said, we’re going to lose everything. This is going to be a disaster. I’m done. I’m getting rid of all of them. And then five minutes later, you know, that’s the feeling subsides. You’re like, okay, I’m back.
So, you know, you’re, you’ll always have those little bumps and you’re going to always still feel a little bit of that doubt, but you got to build your skillset. You got to build your confidence to be able to keep moving through it.
Q Edmonds (19:22)
I love the way you succinctly said that, got to build your skillset and build your confidence. Like it’s okay just to be afraid, to be rattled, right? It’s okay to feel awkward. It’s okay to feel like, man, I’m in over my head. Sometimes it’s just being human. But I love how you said you got to build your skillset and build your confidence. Because when you got the tools to handle the situation, now it’s just building the confidence to go handle the situation.And so I love how you said that build the skill and build the confidence. I think that’s a winning combination. And so man, Trevor, sir, thank you, man. I really appreciate you, sir. Let me ask you this. If someone wanted to reach out to you, connect with you, collaborate with you, learn more about what you’re doing, how can they get in contact with you,
Trevor Methena (20:11)
Yeah, sure. Best way would be probably Instagram. So it’s Trevor Methena underscore R E I ⁓ message me. You know, we’re looking like I said, we’re going to be on the hunt for any investors that are interested in getting to the multifamily space. Maybe they’re ⁓ not familiar with real estate. They’ve never done any deals and they would like to have some partnership. Or if you’re looking to be more of a passive investor and you’re just looking to get into a good asset class like that.I’m definitely interested in working with anybody. So please shoot me a message or if you just want to pick my brain, I’m always open to answering any questions anybody has, especially if they’re starting out.
Q Edmonds (20:53)
Absolutely. Trevor, I sincerely say man, first, thank you for your time, because of course time is valuable, right? ⁓ Definitely, too, thank you for your story. Thank you for your transparency. Thank you for sharing. I put a premium on stories because I think stories, the world, nothing in this world moves without story. And so I appreciate your story. Lastly, man, I appreciate your perspective. Thank you for bringing your mindset to this platform.I know some might is going to get a ton of nuggets from it. And so I appreciate you, sir, for coming through.
Trevor Methena (21:26)
Thank you, Q. Appreciate it.Q Edmonds (21:28)
Absolutely. So listen,y’all can’t tell me y’all didn’t get value from this conversation. Y’all heard Mr. Trevor, he dropped the value. He was transparent. So I know you got a ton of value from this. So definitely collaborate with him, but definitely make sure you are subscribed here. So I keep telling you, we’re going to keep bringing up amazing people just like Mr. Trevor. So sir, say thank you again. And to everyone else, listen, y’all have a great day.
